The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, has confirmed that he will ask for a final one month extension to the State of Emergency, declared on March 14 throughout Spain. That is how long he expects it to take for the entire Spanish territory to have completed the de-escalation process and reach what he has termed as the “new normality”.

This announcement was made today, confirming that next Wednesday he will request a 30-day extension to the State of Emergency, keeping measures in place until the epidemiological reality throughout the country will make mobility restrictions no longer necessary. Sánchez has even suggested that the state of alarm could be lifted earlier in areas that present favourable numbers.

Aiming for what he termed as “the beginning of the summer” he made clear that in his current thinking he believes the majority of Spain’s autonomous communities will have completed all three phases of the de-escalation within that time frame. In those places still lagging behind the others, such as the Community of Madrid, the Barcelona metropolitan area and the provincial capitals of Castilla y León, this final step may come a couple of weeks later.

He also pointed out that those who are, and remain ahead, could finish earlier than the State of Emergency.

However, Sánchez has asked for caution. “Prudence must be the rule,” he said today in an appearance from Moncloa, his official residence, after reiterating on numerous occasions that all steps carried out by the executive will be done so safely and according to the health criterias and opinions of the experts.